When We Were Young
by Mystic Winter
Summary: A series of vignettes looking into Legolas, Elrohir, Eladan, Haldir, Orophin, and Rumil as elflings
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Stars

The stone was cold under his bare feet and a slight wind ruffled his hair as he wrapped his soft green blanket around him, his toy frog, Nen, tucked under his arm. He shivered as he continued through the gardens. It was very late, but he could not sleep. Besides, he wanted to see the stars. Little Legolas Thranduilion sat down under the boughs of a giant Birch tree and hugged Nen to him as footsteps sounded in the distance. The wind blew over him again, making him shiver, and he hugged Nen tighter.

"Do not worry, Tithen-Mellon. I will keep you safe and warm." He whispered.

"Legolas." Legolas crawled out from under the tree and looked up at his father.

"What are you doing out here?" Thranduil asked as he scooped his son up into his arms "Aren't you cold?" Legolas snuggled up against his Ada and looked up at the stars. He suddenly straightened and pointed up at the sky.

"Look, Ada," He exclaimed softly, "There is Soronúmë! And Valacirca!" Thranduil smiled down at his son.

"Very good, Ion-nîn. Can you tell me where Anarríma is?" Legolas's eyes roved over the night sky for a moment or two before grinning and pointing at a star directly above them.

"There, Ada. That is Anarríma." The elfling suddenly grew sad. "Naneth's favorite star." Tears welled up in the elfling's silvery-blue orbs.

"Yes. Anarríma was her favorite- Legolas, Ion-nîn, please do not cry." Legolas's lithe form shook with sobs as he buried his face in his Ada's tunic.

"Bring her back, Ada. Please, bring her back." He sobbed. Thranduil sat down under the birch tree and rocked his son gently.

"Naneth is not really gone, Legolas, Ion-nîn. She lives inside you. She is in everything you see, the trees, the birds, the flowers, in Anarríma. And she will never leave you. Naneth is watching over you now, Legolas. She is watching over us now." The elfling looked up at his Ada and Thranduil wiped the tears from his son's face.

"Ada, sing me Naneth's lullaby? Please?" The elfling pleading, his voice choked from crying. Thranduil smiled down at his son and pressed a kiss to the top of his head before singing the lullaby.

_Hush now, my son, as the stars guard you tonight._

_Listen as the trees do sing you to sleep_

Legolas rubbed fresh tears from his eyes and hugged Nen close.

_Listen, my child, as my voice flows over you_

_Lay down your sweet and sleepy head_

_Dream, child, of peace everlasting_

_Dream, my child, not of sorrow, not of grief_

_Dream, my little one, of happiness and joy, of glorious days anew_

_Do not grieve for those who have gone before_

_And if I leave before I can sing to you again_

_Do not mourn me, my son, my little one, the joy of my heart_

Legolas began to doze off and Thranduil tightened his embrace as tears blurred his vision. He blinked them away and continued the lullaby.

_Instead, remember me with joy_

_Be happy, my son_

_No more tears this night_

_Sleep well tonight_

Thranduil slowly got to his feet as soon as he was sure Legolas was asleep and carried his son back to his room. It shouldn't be this way. Legolas should not have to go without his mother at such a young age, no elfling, no child, should have to. Legolas sighed in his sleep as Thranduil climbed the steps up to Legolas's room. Maybe he should let Legolas sleep with him tonight, incase he woke screaming like last night. It always seemed to help when Thranduil was there. The elven king past Legolas's room and headed towards his room. He'd rather have his son close to him tonight.

* * *

_Tithen-Mellon: Little Friend_

_Ion-Nin: My son_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Swimming

It was a rather fine spring morning, but not exactly peaceful.

"Hurry up, 'Ro! We going swimming!"

"I coming, Dan!"

And chasing two excited elflings through the halls of Imladris was not a good way to start off the day for a certain tired elven lord. And those darn twins were just so hard to catch.

"Elladan! Elrohir! Get back here or there will be no swimming today!" Elrond yelled. Elladan and Elrohir raced back to their Ada, just as Elrond had known they would. The two elflings, who looked so like Elrond it was sometimes frightening, skidded to a halt infront of their father, identical innocent looks on their faces.

"Hi Ada." Elrohir piped up cheerfully. Elrond had to smile. It was hard be irritated with these two for very long.

'Now, listen you two. I want you to listen to me or we will come back here and do homework with Erestor." Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other in horror. Clearly, they did not want to do homework. They looked back at their father, hoping to see a joking smile on his face, but he looked as stern as ever.

'We be good, Ada. Pwomise." The twins told their father in unison.

****

Elrond instinctively cringed when the cold river water splashed over him. The twins giggled as Elrond wiped his face dry, and squealed with delight as their father splashed them with a wave of his own.

"We do splash wars, Ada?" Elladan asked as he "swam" around in the shallows. Elrohir splashed his twin with a gleeful cry and Elladan spluttered. Elrond had to laugh as the younger twin tried to shake water from his hair, which had yet to reach his shoulders.

"All right, one splash war." He said. The twins grinned and shrieked yet again when Elrond splashed them. The little Elrondions began to splash their father by smacking their hands against the water, but mostly just splashed water in their own faces. Laughter and shrieks of delight sounded from the river bank as the three elves "swam" around and tried to splash each other.

It was Glorfindel who found the three elves in the water and he couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, it's Glorfy!" Elrohir shouted.

"Let's dunk him!" Elladan exclaimed.

"Shall we see who can catch him first?" Elrond asked, a very mischievous grin, which Glorfindel really did not like the look of, playing on the elf lord's lips. Elrohir and Elladan nodded enthusiastically.

"Let's get him, then." Elrond laughed. Glorfindel groaned and bolted, Elrond and two elflings drenched from head to toe chasing after him. And anyone who cared to see what all the laughter and yelling was about would have found themselves laughing at the sight of the legendary Glorfindel the Balrog-Slayer being chased by two elflings and an elf lord drenched from head to toe.

"You'll never catch me!" Glorfindel shouted over his shoulder. He looked ahead again just in time to stop from running into Erestor.

"What's all this about?" Erestor asked, his eyebrows raised in amusement. Before Glorfindel could reply, a very wet pair of elflings latched onto him.

"Please let us dunk you Glorfy?" Elrohir pleaded. Glorfindel sighed and looked over his shoulder at Elrond, who shrugged, then back down at the twins.

:Oh, all right." He said. Elladan and Elrohir grinned. "But you have to dunk Erestor afterwards." Glorfindel added.

"What?! No!" Erestor exclaimed.

"But, we no getta' dunk Glorfy, then." Elrohir whined. Erestor sighed.

"Oh, fine. But you have to catch me first." Elladan and Elrohir nodded, grinning from ear to ear. Erestor and Glorfindel willingly allowed the elflings to pull them back to the river. And, after Glorfindel was completely drenched, he declared it was Erestor's turn. But they didn't see Erestor anywhere.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: "It Moved!" 

The elf peeked around the corner, and then motioned for the elfling to follow him. They snuck over to the large wooden door, the fading sunlight pouring in through the window casting their shadows over the wood walls.

"Hal?" The elfling asked in a relatively loud whisper. Haldir gave his little brother a look and drew his finger across his neck. Orophin's eyes grew wide.

"Why would you wanna' cut-" he began.

"Orophin! Hush!" Haldir whispered through gritted teeth. Orophin nodded and hugged Amar, his toy sparrow, and his dirty, blue blanket to his chest. To Orophin, the seconds seemed to go by like hours as Haldir stood in front of the door, listening closely for any noises inside. Finally, Haldir slowly opened the door. He crept in first before motioning for his little brother to follow. Orophin suddenly got the shivers. They weren't supposed to be in here. As Haldir looked into the cradle sitting on a rug in the middle of the room, Orophin looked around. The dark, wooden shelves were bare and the golden sunlight barely shone through the crème colored curtains to light the small room. He looked back over at the crib. And saw the blankets move.

"It moved!" Orophin exclaimed. Then, whatever was in the cradle began to wail and Haldir winced. He reached into the cradle and took the moving blankets in his arms.

"Aye, such a strong voice for such a little one." Haldir laughed softly as he sat down in the rocking chair in the far right corner of the room. The chair, as Orophin well remembered, was made of oak and was a gift from his grandfather. His grandfather had crafted the chair himself, and he heard that it had taken some time to make.

"What is it?" Orophin asked in a frightened tone. Haldir gave his brother a look that just screamed amusement.

"_He_ is your little brother." Haldir replied. "Come and see him." Orophin cautiously walked over to his brother as footsteps sounded down the hall. The younger looked up, frightened of what would happen when the elf entered the room, but Haldir was unconcerned at the moment.

"Come on, Orophin. Come see your little brother." He urged. Orophin hurried over to the chair. And wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"It's so small and wrinkly!" He exclaimed. The baby, whom Haldir had just gotten to calm down, began to wail again at the sudden loud noise.

"Aye, Orophin. Not so loud, it hurts his ears." Haldir sighed. Just as Orophin opened his mouth to comment, their father entered the room.

"Ada, it's so small!" Orophin exclaimed as he ran over to his father. "How am I ever going to be able to play with _that_?" Haldir and his father both chuckled.

"Orophin, you were once that small." Their father commented. Orophin wrinkled his nose in disbelief.

"Was not." He retorted. Haldir laughed softly as the baby began to doze off.

"You were, Orophin. As was I." Orophin looked at Haldir incredulously.

"But you're so… big." The younger breathed.

"All things start out small, gwador-nin. Even me. Even Ada." Haldir replied kindly. "Now, how about you come here and give your brother a _proper_ welcome?" Orophin allowed his father to set him down then walked over to his older brother. He stared at the baby for a few moments before speaking.

"Hello, little brother." He said. "We're going to have a lot of fun together. Even though you're small and wrinkly."

* * *

Gwador-Nin: My Brother


	4. Chapter 4

Epilogue: When We Grew Up

It was a warm, summer day when the shrieking laughter of 6 elves reached the king's study. Thranduil stood and walked over to the window. What he saw made him smile. His son, Legolas, Haldir, Rumil, Orophin, Eladan, and Elrohir were running after each other, buckets full of water in their hands. Legolas shrieked as freezing cold water rushed over him like a waterfall. He coughed and spluttered as Rumil dashed away from the older elf, towards base, where he could refill his bucket. Legolas doused Haldir before dashing off after Rumil, an evil grin on his face.

"Legolas Thrand- Aiya!" Haldir shouted. Elrohir cackled and dashed off, his bucket still containing a little bit of water.

Back at base, Legolas hurried to fill his bucket before Rumil had run too far from base. A warm breeze wafted through the courtyard, making Legolas shiver. He set his bucket down and lay on his back, eyes closed. Unfortunately, he didn't hear Elrohir, or even notice him, until freezing cold water was unceremoniously dumped over him. Legolas gave a shout as Elrohir scrambled for cover.

"Elrohir Elrondion! This is base!" From his study window, Thranduil laughed. He couldn't remember the last time Legolas had had as much fun as he was having now. He silently thanked the Valar for giving his son such a day, and for giving him such a happy son.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note

I would first like to thank all my reviewers. Your feedback was much appreciated.

Second, I'm thinking about putting up a sequel for this, but I'm not so sure if I should.

Please tell me what you think and thanks again!

Mystic Winter


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